BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Are IndyCar drivers
athletes or just competitors?

Dario Franchitti, one of five IndyCar drivers
in town today for testing at Barber Motorsport Park, had heard that question
before and was more than ready with a response.

"Anybody who says we're not athletes, come
and try to do five laps, never mind nearly 100 laps somewhere like Barber," the
veteran driver said.

Franchitti cited the results of some studies
as he made his case.

"Your pulse rate is elevated most of the race
above 160 beats for minute for basically two hours," he said. "Your cardio
system is probably getting the same kind of workout as a marathon runner. At
the same time you're doing that, your body is fighting with the corner forces
and the G forces."

The driver added that drivers are fighting
those forces while positioning a car at up to 200 mph. He noted that those cars
don't have power steering because of the down forces the car produces.

"It's the equivalent to having 20-pound
dumbbells, one in each hand, and you're moving those," he said. "That's the
kind of weight and it spikes as high as 35 pounds. That's the kind of weight
we're pulling against."

Then there is the force required to slow the
car.

"Every time we press the brake - four times
on this track - we're pushing it with about 150 pounds of force," he said.
That's the equivalent of sitting in a gym and pushing 150 pounds of force.

"Your head in most of the corners of this
course, your head and helmet (feel as though they weigh) upwards of 40 and as
high as 60 pounds and your neck is supporting that," he said. "The problem is,
to really feel those forces, you'd have drive the car on the limit to generate
the grip levels and forces. I would say anyone who says that, 'Come and have a
go.'"